Stealth
by underthemoonandstars
Summary: Derek's not the only werewolf who can appear shockingly at random.


Stiles was running late, really late. School started in exactly four minutes and Stiles was just now pulling into the school parking lot. On top of that, the only available parking spots were the farthest ones from the door.

Hopping out of his rickety Jeep, Stiles had to wonder if his parking predicament was a small punishment from the universe for some wrongdoing his addled brain couldn't remember at the moment.

Three sharp hallway turns later, Stiles burst into his homeroom, chest heaving with one and a half minutes until the final bell rang. His dramatic entrance had been mostly ignored by his peers who were absorbed in their pre-class conversation, and that suited Stiles just fine.

Reaching his desk, Stiles collapsed into his seat, panting as he did so. Turning around to explain his near-tardiness to Scott, who sat behind him this period, Stiles finally noticed the lack of his favorite werewolf in their homeroom.

Whipping his head around to stare at the wall clock, Stiles observed there was only one minute left until the school day officially commenced. A quick scan of the room revealed a total lack of Scott. So where was he? The paranoia caused by his best friend being in constant danger had Stiles racking his brain for a reason his friend wasn't there. The full moon wasn't due for three weeks. He hadn't gotten any hunter related texts last night. Derek wasn't ripping the streets apart at the moment as an Alpha, so most of those scenarios could be crossed off his metal list of possibilities.

The bell let loose a shrill ring as Stiles discreetly sent a text under his desk to Scott asking for a location before Stiles did something reckless like skipping the rest of the day to find him.

The dull sound that can only be created by a cell phone set to vibrate had Stiles turning his head reflexively behind him a second later. The last thing Stiles expected to find was Scott sitting there as if he'd been there the entire time, opening a textbook and looking toward his bag where his cell phone had just signaled the arrival of a text. Stiles was so surprised by Scott's sudden appearance that he yelped, in what he would later swear was a manly way, and fell right out of his seat.

Scott stared at his best friend in confusion as the rest of the class turned their eyes to see an embarrassed Stiles trying to push himself off of the floor.

The teacher, Mr. Mandler, was a no nonsense, middle-aged man with a receding hairline and beer belly. Naturally, Stiles didn't really have the best student-teacher relationship with the grouchy adult. So it wasn't a surprise when he stared at Stiles with a stern expression. "Are you finished with your tomfoolery, Mr. Stilinski?"

Stiles, who couldn't take anyone who used the word "tomfoolery" seriously, nodded his head and replied with a mocking amount of enthusiasm; "Yes, sir!" He proceeded to spring back into his seat and immediately started to pretend nothing had happened.

With a slightly disbelieving look on his face, Mr. Mandler turned to the board and started writing as he muttered to himself about retirement and freedom from the "spazzy dimwits" or something like that.

The students went back to their idle conversation and Stiles turned back to Scott, half expecting him to have disappeared and subsequently prove that all the werewolf stress had finally shoved Stiles off the precipice and into insanity. Scott was still there, however, which was both a relief and the original source of the problem.

"Dude, what the hell?" Stiles demanded, too frazzled to be polite. He did manage to keep his voice an appropriate volume though, so points for Stiles.

"What?" Scott questioned, cocking his head to the side. Stiles almost considered bringing up the fact that Scott looked like a puppy when he did that, but decided his wolfy friend wouldn't appreciate the humor in the comparison. It was also way off topic.

"When did you get here? I didn't see you walk in," Stiles explained.

"Oh, I was running late. My alarm clock didn't go off, I walked in right before the bell rang," Scott delivered his explanation with a nonchalance that irritated Stiles in ways he couldn't explain.

"But- but I didn't see you," Stiles emphasized in a desperate attempt to find a strange explanation that could return a bit of his dignity. Scott was being incredibly unhelpful when he just shrugged and turned his attention to the book on his desk, which he was using to help cram for the test he had next period which he hadn't studied for last night.

Stiles reluctantly turned forward, but he had the strangest feeling in the back of his head, like this has happened before.


End file.
